"𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝟖𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐄𝐦?" Pope asked.
"Buy a brand new sugar-shack down in Costa Rica, livin' off passive investments and pulling on permits." Emerson sadly chuckled, remembering her parents and Big John's dream. After her and John B's breakdown, the Pogues decided to go sit down at the dock.
"We better get going." Kie said checking the time on her phone. "You staying, JJ?" she asked. "Nope. Let's roll, folks." he said as he stood up along with Pope and Kie.
"Don't get into a car accident." Emerson joked, but was also somewhat serious. A couple seconds later, she heard an engine starting up, and the car driving down the road.
"Do you really think they're dead?" Emerson whispered after a moment of silence. "If I'm being honest, I have no clue." John B answered. He looked into her eyes and saw nothing but sadness.
After awhile of looking at each other's eyes, they eventually leaned in and locked lips. Emerson hooked her arms around this neck, making the kiss more deeper. Emerson couldn't help the butterflies that just erupted in her stomach. As their soft lips moved in synced, they eventually pulled away to catch their breath.
"John B?" Emerson whispered. "Yeah?"
"What if we never see them again?" Emerson asked, getting teary-eyed. "Then, when we finish what they started, we'll get our sugar-shacks down in Costa Rica and drink away our problems." John B chuckled. Emerson couldn't help but smile, part of it being he sees her in his future. They both ended up sleeping on the dock, dreaming about what their lives would look like in Costa Rica.
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The next morning, the Pogues decided to go on a boat ride before they continued their adventure with the Royal Merchant. Emerson frowned when she looked down at her exposed stomach, filled with bruises.
"You still look beautiful, don't worry." John B said as he hooked his arm around her shoulder, noticing her examining her bruises. Emerson gave him a soft smile until JJ whistled, catching everyone's attention.
"You guys see that? That's the Malibu 24-MXZ, the world's finest wakesetter. Number one in luxury, quality, and performance. 200K, easy." JJ admired the boat.
"We picked the wrong parents."
"Looks pretty sweet."
"I hate to break it to you guys, but that's Topper and his girlfriend." Kie said, making Emerson roll her eyes. Topper to her was the definition of dumbass.
Sarah lifted her sunglasses and glared at all the Pogues, but when she saw Emerson her eyes softened and she smiled at her. Emerson smiled back at her, but when her eyes met Topper she glared at him.
"You don't have to act like you don't see us, bitch." Kie said, loud and clear.
Emerson knew what had happened between Kie and Sarah. She remembered Kie telling her everything that happened, while sobbing. Although she knew what happened, she didn't personally know Sarah so she wasn't gonna judge her for how she treated one person.
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"Pope we're not stealing the drone. We're borrowing it." John B said as the Pogues made their way towards the salvage yard. After getting the coordinates of the wreck from a hotel in Figure Eight, they realized that the drone from the salvage yard would be great to see the shipwreck.
"Humans are the only animal that can't tell fantasy from reality." Pope responded. "Wait, did you come up with that?" John B asked. "Albert Bernstein did!" Emerson said looking at Pope for confirmation. He smiled and nodded. Although Pope was the smartest in the group, Emerson was extremely close behind.
John B looked over to see Emerson smiling that she got the answer correct. He chuckled and rested his hand on her thigh, and she interlaced their fingers. The three Pogues in the back looked at each other, smiling. They've always wanted the two to get together.
"The quote. It applies to this whole treasure-hunting thing, though." Pope spoke up. "So, which is it? Fantasy or reality?" he asked John B.
"Why are you so weird, Pope?" JJ asked.
"Fantasy, but possible reality." Kie said, ignoring JJ.
"Reality." Emerson and John B said at the same time, and smiled at each other.
"Virtual reality." JJ said, lighting up his blunt. Pope took the blunt away and told him to 'keep the signal clear.'
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The van pulled up to the car that Emerson and Kie were going to use to distract the security, so that the boys could get the drone. Once the girls hopped out of the van, the boys in the back started arguing.
"Hey, don't worry. You got this." John B leaned out his window. "It's not us we're worried about." Kie said, pointing to the two boys arguing in the back. As Kie walked away, Emerson sent John B a quick wink before they walked away.
Their relationship is quite interesting if you think about it. They both like each other, but they're too scared and stubborn to tell one another. They flirt a ton, yet no one has made a move yet.
"So, what's up with you and John B?" Kie asked as they hopped into the car. "What do you mean?" Emerson plays dumb. "Stop being stupid. You know what I mean."
Emerson sighs and decides to just tell Kie the truth like she always does. The two have been best friends for awhile, and know each other's deepest secrets. "Right after you guys left last night, we kissed. It's not like I admitted my feelings or anything, we just kinda ended up kissing, you know?" she said as she felt her cheeks burn. Kie just squealed as they pulled up into the salvage yard near the gate.
"You need to tell him how you feel! I need this ship to sail." Kie said, emphasizing on the word 'need.' Emerson just rolled her eyes as they got the security man to come help fix the flat tire they had. She saw the man looking her and Kie up and down, and she shifted uncomfortably.
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"How's it going with you and Em?" JJ smirks at John B, as the boys hid behind some wood. "We kissed after you guys left last night."
Both JJ and Pope's eyes widen at the sudden response. "I'm sorry, what?"
"We kissed. Nothing else. It's not like I admitted my feelings or anything. We just sat in silence for awhile, then it just happened." John B replied. "I'm sorry, that does not sound like nothing to me." Pope said. "Yeah dude, when are you gonna admit your feelings to her?" JJ asked.
John B has had a crush on Emerson forever. He knows the whole group wants them to be together, but he's worried the feeling isn't mutual.
"How do I know if the feeling is mutual, huh?"
"Are you fucking kidding me right now, bro? The way her eyes sparkle when she looks at you, you could practically see stars in her eyes." JJ exaggerated. John B sighed as he looked up and saw the girls signalling them to go through the gate, and to hurry up before it closed.
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"Stealing drones make you hungry." Kie said as the van came to a stop in front of The Wreck. "What I would do to a beer and shrimp and grits right now." JJ said as he climbed out of the van. "It would not be pretty." Pope said as he followed JJ out.
As they entered The Wreck, Kie went up to talk to her dad while the rest of the Pogues stood to the side looking at other people's food.
"Hey. Hey! Hello!" Emerson waved her hand in front of the boys who were looking at other people's food. "What?" JJ asked.
"Can we not be creepy and stare at other people's food?"
"Well we haven't eaten since breakfast."
"Well I haven't either and you don't see me complaining now, do you?" Emerson snapped at them. They didn't want to see the sight of angry Emerson, especially when she was hungry, so they kept quiet.
"Sit down." Kie said to the Pogues as she and Emerson went out to serve the boys. As the boys were stuffing food in their mouths, Kie and Emerson noticed that all the customers have left. They gave each other a look and turned up the music, and started dancing.
Emerson grabbed John B's hands and forced him to dance with her, while Kie took JJ's and started to dance with him. After a couple minutes of messing around, she noticed Pope looking really fondly at Kiara, but also... jealous? Emerson turned to Pope and told him to come dance with them. When he declined, she left him no choice but to stand up and dance with the rest of the Pogues.
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"Good morning, sleeping beauty." John B chuckled when he saw Emerson come outside from the Chateau. "We tested the drone and it seemed to work." he said.
Emerson was still exhausted so she didn't really care much. She just shrugged and layed her head on John B's lap. She couldn't stop yawning, even though she got like 9 hours of sleep.
"Where'd you get that popcorn from?" she asked, pointing to the bag of popcorn that was across from her. She knew John B didn't buy it, since she did most of the grocery shopping for him. "Sarah Cameron came by and said she wasn't the reason I got fired. When we stole those tanks, I tried to sneak them in and she caught me. Then Ward somehow found out, thought it was her and kinda acted like a kid, and then she came and told me that she didn't tell him."
"You got fired and didn't tell me?"
"Well, I kinda forgot about it after awhile since, you know, this whole Royal Merchant thing."
"Understandable." she sent him a soft smile. They looked into each other's eyes and stared at each other adoringly, until Emerson wrapped an arm around his neck to pull him down for a kiss. The kiss soon turned into a heavy makeout session until they had to pull away to catch their breaths.
"John B, what are we?" Emerson asked curiously. She has always wanted to be more than friends, but was afraid that the feeling wasn't mutual. "You tell me. What do you want us to be?" John B smirked. "Whatever you want us to be." she smiled as they both leaned in again, and locked their lips together.
After awhile, they heard a car pull up. "Break it up lovebirds!" the voice inside the car shouted. It was none other than Kie. Emerson giggled and stood up to give Kie a hug. "Someone finally decided to wake up." Kie teased and Emerson playfully shoved her.
"I need her to help me at The Wreck. See ya!" Kie shouted at John B, as she dragged Emerson to the car. "You better spill everything that I just witnessed!" Kie squealed. "What? It's just a makeout, you can calm yourself now." Emerson said, blushing.
"That, my friend, did not just seem like any makeout to me." Kie said. "Well when I asked what we were, he asked what I wanted us to be, and I just replied with 'whatever you want us to be.'" Emerson shrugged.
"Girl! I knew something like this would happen one day!" Kie squealed, as Emerson rolled her eyes at her excitement. In her opinion, Kie was overreacting.
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"You really think it's out there? Like, no bullshit?" Pope asked. They were all currently laying on hammocks outside the Chateau. Kie, JJ, and Pope on one of them, and John B and Emerson on the other. "Our parents thought it was." John B said, looking at Emerson.
"But do you?"
"After hearing their voice on that tape, I think I do."
"Only one way to find out." Pope and John B do the Pogue handshake.
"Look, we're gonna find it, you know. Even JJ believes." Kie spoke up. "Oh my gosh JJ, do you really believe?" Emerson asked, sarcastically.
"Totally. Wait, are we talking about four mil?" he asked. "400 mil." Pope and Kie said at the same time. "Jinx." Kie said.
"I'm gonna dream about shipwrecks. Good night, Bubba. Good night, Bird." he said to the two Pogues on the other hammock. "Good night, bird shit!" Emerson and John B said at the same time, which made everyone laugh.
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author's note: [word count: 2087]
i'm tired. anyways, please don't judge me, i know it's bad.